Congo, Democratic Republic Of

When conflict or disaster hits, local families are the primary source of refuge and comfort for the disaster/conflict-affected populations before front line humanitarian agencies like WFP can have time and resources to intervene. In DRC’s northern province of Equateur several Congolese families have opened their doors to hundreds of thousands of CAR citizens who had fled scenes of horrors in their home country last year. Marie-Claire, a Congolese young mother tells us what it is to be a host family.

The latest mass displacement of civilians in DRC is taking place in a remote area of Orientale province near the border with Uganda. As many as 200,000 have been driven from their homes by fighting. WFP is reaching many of them with food assistance but lack of funding means there are not enough stocks to provide for all.

For people living with HIV in poor countries, there are already many barriers to accessing life-saving medication and also to the nutritional food that will help the treatment work. But for populations affected by emergencies, such as the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it's even harder. This was one of the messages that emerged at the ICASA conference in Cape Town this week. WFP's Natalie Aldern was there and shares her read-out here.

The World Food Programme is currently experiencing a shortage of funds – and consequently of food stocks - for its operations in DRC. This has already forced WFP to cut food rations in camps for displaced people in the east of the country. So serious has the funding situation now become that food assistance to many is set to be stopped altogether in coming months.

During her visit to DRC, WFP Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin met internally displaced people, especially women, who are the first victims of violence. Muhami, whose little girl was abused by armed men, told Cousin her story. We are sharing it with you. As most of the displaced people, Muhami has only one dream: a just peace that will allow her to go back home and rebuild her life.

In what has been called DRC's forgotten crisis, tens of thousands of people have been driven from their homes by violence in a remote part of Katanga province. The UN World Food Programme has been working hard to assist these displaced people since the start of last year but there are many challenges - insecurity, poor roads and lack of resources.

Marie Mwenu Afia, a mother of three, was forced to flee her town February and seek refuge in Punia following attacks by Raia Mutomboki rebels. On her way to Punia she lost her daughter to illness. Now, insecurity and poor road and transport infrastructures in Punia continue to hamper humanitarian interventions. As Mwenu acknowledges, the only real solution to their suffering is an improvement in the security situation so they can return home and resume their lives.

Barimeya, a father of 11, was forced to leave his village when rebels took control of Rutshuru territory. He and his family sought refuge in a camp near Goma, North Kivu’s provincial capital. He has since returned to his village. Like many others, he hopes the peace deal signed in Addis Ababa in late February will hold.

Crispin Mpigirwa is a WFP nutritionist, who works in the troubled east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where entire communities often have to abandon their homes to escape fighting. A Congolese national, with 15 years of experience in humanitarian work, Crispin is a key figure in WFP’s efforts to combat malnutrition in the camps for displaced people around Goma.